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KNOW YOUR SELF

“Nothing is true in self-discovery unless it is true in your own experience. This is the only protection against the robot levels of the mind.”– Barry Long

A cursory glance through our immediate surroundings will unmistakably convince us that ours is a variegated world with a fierce struggle raging in every facet of life. Majority is caught up in a lunatic race for cosmetically prolonging life span besides endeavouring to make life as pleasurable as possible. With most of us, this has come to be the prime objective of our earthly existence.

It seems as if we are satisfied with mundane attainments and possessions, obviously out of ignorance of pearls of fathomless wisdom that lie in the inner realms of Ultimate Reality. We never think and try to probe into the Ultimate Reality; instead, we get riveted to the external phenomena only and feel satisfied with the deluding appearances. We never try to ponder over: ‘Who actually are we? Why have we come on this earth? What is that which is energising us? What is that which is propelling the whole of the creation around us?’ Enlightenment lies in knowing our true self, as is said:

He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened.- Lao Tzu

That’s why, great saint Kabir advises us to reflect upon: O man! Who are you? From where have you come? What is the source of your origin? Why are you roaming around in delusion? Where will you go after leaving these mortal coils?

Far from living blindly and artificially, we need to pause to reflect upon these core queries. These are the fundamental questions that confront us on the very threshold of consciousness and long for an effective solution. Let’s deal with these basic queries one by one. The very first query is: ‘Who are we?’ If someone is asked who he is, then you can hear an instant reply: “I am Mr. Paul” or “I am the son or brother of so and so” or “I am the relative of so and so.” However, all this constitutes your relative identity and not the true one. Today, you know yourself by your name, address, city, country, or through some relationship. And not for a single moment do you wake up towards your True Self! However, the fulfillment and completion of the goal of human life demands awareness of our True Self without any relational input of any kind. Scriptures call it the knowledge of Self.

RELATIVE IDENTIFICATIONS - - - -

The recognition of a man with respect to name, form, relationship, etc. constitutes his relative identifications. These may be broadly classified into the following types:

BODILY IDENTIFICATION

We not only are deeply involved with our bodies but also err in developing identification solely with our bodies. We have cultivated the feeling of being merely bodies. Our philosophical world presents us a book called “The Philosophy of As-If.” Basically, we too follow the same philosophy. Completely oblivious of our Pure Consciousness, we behave as if we are bodies. Actually, a man possesses the nature of developing bonds with anything he derives pleasure from. He then, steered by the view that he can extract bounty of happiness while being associated with anything pleasurable, tries to be recognized by that only.

That is why, considering our body to be the source of pleasure, we try to develop a sort of intimacy with it. Such recognitions delude us. For instance, after birth, there is a tradition of celebrating a naming ceremony and assigning a name to a newly born baby. Gradually, as that toddler grows up, he develops an intense identification with his name. Even though he is born nameless, the name then becomes so prestigious that he prefers giving up his life for the sake of his name. The same way, one even develops a sort of affection for his form. But remember! Even your form is not your True Self. How can it be your true identity when it keeps on changing constantly? Just try to reflect upon: ‘What was your form in childhood? And how did you look like in your mother’s womb?’ Of course, totally different from what you appear to be today. If all those pictures are somehow produced before you, you yourself may fail to recognize your own form. Our medical science reveals that the physical body changes entirely in 7 or 12 years’ period. Nothing remains the same, not even a single cell. However, our True Self is both immutable and imperishable. So, how can this ephemeral body, which keeps on changing even while being alive, be our True Self?

RELATIONAL IDENTIFICATION

Following the same logic of ‘identification for pleasure’, a man tries to be known with respect to one or the other relationship. The parents begin to feel identified with their son, a sister with her brother, a wife with her husband, and vice versa. Most of the time, we see the parents living in their son. If the son succeeds, they too feel successful, and if the son achieves, they consider it to be their own achievement. Frankly speaking, whatever pleases us, directly or indirectly, we begin to develop attachment with it. So, if the son is successful in his life, the parents feel proud to be recognized through him. The very moment the same son turns rebellious or a criminal, the parents try to evade their acquaintance with him.

Once there was an old man having two sons. One of them was a minister. Being proud of him, he always boasted of his position and became famous as the father of a minister. However, the old man never ever referred to his ordinary son. He never felt to be identified with his ordinary son. Once, in some tragic incidence, he lost his minister son. Son’s demise was so unbearable for the old man that he even started thinking of committing suicide. Upon being asked if his son had been a criminal, whether he would have felt the same, he pondered over and responded, “Perhaps, no!” So, it was not the death of his son which troubled him, rather it was the death of his own ambitions, his own identification. Hence, such is the delusion created by our worldly relationships. An identification born out of them exists as long as our relative is alive. The end of bonds with someone implies fading away of recognition gained through him.

Reflecting upon all these pseudo identities of man, Gurdjieff used to say that man is just like a palace having many slaves. However, the owner, the master of the palace, has gone for an outing. He has been out for such a long time that now the slaves have completely forgotten him and are scuffling to adorn the master’s throne. Whenever someone passes by this splendid palace, stunned by its beauty, he is prompted to ask, “Whose mansion is this?” The slave prominent at that time turns up and instantly replies, “It belongs to me.” But if the same person passes by that palace at some other time, he can easily see someone else at the door claiming to be the owner. This way the whole of this human castle, being ruled by different slaves, the relative identities, at different intervals, is totally bewildered, as is said:

“No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true.” (Nathaniel Hawthorne/The Scarlet Letter)

Directly or indirectly, all these pseudo identities originate in one’s mind, making a man more and more complex. Mind has the tendency of perplexing you. It takes you far away from your True Self, as it drags you down to the state of being allured towards the external world. It obstructs your inner spiritual odyssey. Following the dictates of your tricky mind, the more you get enticed into the world, the farther you get from your True Self. If the remedy is not found soon, it can leave you in a permanent state of homesickness. Thus, our mind leads us astray. It takes us far away from the real track. It would be foolishness to consider it a conveyance or a passage towards our True Self.

Mind proves to be the most unreliable entity in us. However, the majority of the world population today is surviving at the mental level. Their mental dependency demands the designing of such a methodology that through enlightenment can tune our mind with our true Self, i.e., Soul or Pure Consciousness, thus making the mind reliable. Such a methodology should involve amalgamation of our mind with Pure Consciousness. For, if the mind gets harmonized with the soul, then there is no need to suppress or condemn it. So, Dear aspirants, Mind it! Such a strategy is none other than True Knowledge, involving the direct perception of our true Self, the soul, the part and parcel of God. Thus, receiving True Knowledge or Divine Knowledge (Brahm Gyan) by the benedictory grace of a Perfect Master, we can acquaint and harmonize our body, mind, and intellect with our true Self.